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Is Big Cat Rescue a Sham?

I made a post about Big Cat Rescue (BCR) 9 months ago. I said I admired the work of Carole Baskin (formerly Carole Lewis) the founder. BCR was called Wildlife on Easy Street (WOES). I have been constructively criticised recently about this post. I am pleased to be corrected when I am wrong. It has given me the motivation to look again at Big Cat Rescue and make my own decision as to whether the allegations that Carole Baskin lies is true. I will try to be as neutral and as objective as possible.

The Allegations

A host of allegations are on this page of this site: rexano.org – link broken to specific webpage April 2013

BCR don’t rescue cats they buy healthy cats and breed them (src: http://web.archive.org/web/20091126013220/http://www.wildliferescueandrehab.org:80/learnthetruth/index.html (broken link) and http://www.metacafe.com ) and then make money from them.

BCR has suffered 10 USDA violations in April 1999 (src: as immediately above)

Looking at some of the Allegations

I’ll look at some of the allegations from the link in the first numbered bullet (rexano.org – link broken to specific webpage April 2013) as this is the best prepared page containing allegations of deceitfulness and therefore the most likely to be true. I will address the first 5 allegations on the linked page above in the order presented.

Carole Baskin writes “stupid” letters to the neighbours of people who keep dangerous animals under license to warn them of potential problems if they escape etc..Comment: a copy of the letter is shown. On the face of it, it is true that she sent the letters. But is it silly or stupid in an absolute sense? No. It might be stupid to the author criticizing and it might seem a bit too forceful to some people but to others it might seem very appropriate. This seems to be a bit of mud slinging from someone who does not like Carole Baskin and her operation.

Snow leopards were bought by BCR as pets or breeders (in 1998?). Two invoices and a newsletter – link broken are produced as supporting evidence.Comment: These animals were on the face of it bought as stated. They were however, bought from another wildlife sanctuary, MacCarthy’s Wildlife Sanctuary, a non-profit 501-(c)-3-wildlife rehabilitation facility licensed by Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the United States Department of Agriculture’s Animal Welfare Act, and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Department of the Interior. McCarthy’s are a rescue sanctuary (see this page: http://www.mccarthyswildlife.com/about.html). This would then appear to be a transfer of rescue cats from one sanctuary to another. It could be argued that it should be a free transfer because BCR has to take on the upkeep. One of the cats, Hercules, is stated as being a gift from Don Lewis to his wife. Is it possible to give a gift of a wild cat to a wild cat rescuer and rescue a cat at the same time? It seems the answer must be, yes. Is is possible for the founder of a cat rescue operation to treat one of the cats in her charge as a pet? It would seem, yes. Is breeding captive wildcats contrary wild cat rescue generally? No, this is now the norm it seems (and in any event BCR claim not to breed from Hercules). Also BCR say that Hercules was rescued because he was surplus to survival plan of this cat species as declared by someone else.

Another allegation is that“BCR are calling their pet Snow Leopards ‘surplus to the Species Survival Plan‘. Comment: I think that Rexano simply got this wrong. BCR are saying as mentioned above that these cats were considered surplus by other sanctuary (McCarthy’s?). They claim to have rescued them from getting into the hands of unscrupulous breeders.

The next allegation is that BCR had a video on YouTube showing how they bred wild cats and traded them etc. Comment: The video referred to has been removed, “This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by Carole Baskin .” The allegation in any event would not seem to be automatically contrary to cat rescue.

BCR is no longer (at 28th April 2008) a charity accredited by BBB because they mishandled complaints and they cannot use the BBB seal. Comment: The three complaints that they dealt with were answered on the BCR website. BCR criticised the complaints as false. This did not meet the standard of BBB. This is standard no. 20. There are 20 standards and the remaining 19 were passed by BCR. The seal is voluntary by the way. BCR are not seal holders (as at Nov 2009). BCR is listed on the BBB website (Nov 2009 – http://www.bbb.org/charity-reviews/national/#B). The list is of “enrolled charities”. The BB Wise Giving report expires Oct 2009. I presume that this means that the problem expires too.

Is Big Cat Rescue a Sham? No, not on this evidence. OK to recap the above. I do not see malpractice or evidence that tells me that Big Cat Rescue is anything other than stated:

Stated Purpose: “to provide a good home for the limited number of cats that the sanctuary can afford to take in … and reduce the number of cats that suffer the fate of abandonment and abuse by educating as many people as possible about the conditions that lead to the plight of these animals. ” (BBB website – this page)

What I do see is some mud slinging. This is probably because Carole Baskin is a forceful women who has made some enemies. Although controversial, I think it fair to say that there may also be a sexist problem. Some men and women don’t like women who behave like men.

She has certainly alienated wild cat hybrid breeders because she is firmly against the practice. She has tended to be too outspoken against wild cat hybrids and made generalizations about them which have on occasions been misconstrued and which have not furthered her cause. But these are simply her views and she is entitled to declare them on her website. Alone, a declaration of a deep distaste of wild cat hybrid breeding is not sufficient to say that Carole Baskin is a liar and runs a sham of an operation.

I welcome comments. But please, comments should be supported by sound evidence if critical.

Comments for Is Big Cat Rescue a Sham?

Response to comment of Mar 31, 2012 saying that I am a “retard”. Judging by your writing skills it is you who is retarded but I would not call you that. I’ll just say that you are rude and impolite and you sound like an unpleasant person. The kind of person who likes to criticize without really researching the matter.

And I agree with Carole Baskin, anyone who makes nasty comments anonymously cannot be taken seriously. It is rather pathetic really.

Apr 08, 2012

Anonymous Comments Aren’t Credibleby: Carole Baskin

I invite anyone to research Big Cat Rescue’s inspection history as well as that of Joe Schreibvogel, the person behind most of the “Anonymous” complaints against us at the USDA’s website. You will find they actually fined him 25,000 for violations of the Animal Welfare Act and that he is currently under investigation for the deaths of 23 tiger cubs. If people are afraid to post their real names to their comments, then they aren’t credible. If they were telling the truth and didn’t have worse inspections to hide, they would use their real names so you could check them out too. Here is the site to check http://acissearch.aphis.usda.gov/LPASearch/faces/Warning.jspx

Apr 07, 2012

BCR USDA Violationsby: Anonymous

As your article mentions uses violations perhaps you should look at their record again. BCR in Tampa now has repeat violations on their record. Violations happen and catching items to fix is what audits help everyone do, but a repeat is just terrible.

Mar 31, 2012

whomever wrote this is a retardby: Anonymous

you are dumb biased as possible a buying the animals is a purchase period not a rescue your another one of her wuacks trying to take up space online with blogs using keywords to fill in the negative pr that is being fought bavk against a criminal that makes fake rescue claims and collects donations for it the place is a dump rusty cages feces and full of usda violations she has breed has interactions with the public and purchased many of the residence there all the so called violations of not being a sanctuary she claims every one else is not a sanctuary for anyone can make good blogs you morons keep attadking the wrong people ill show how good good can get the only thingyoull see is all your. bad crap when you type bcr ill pay for a banner ad that tops her ads under the adwords campaign tired of you and her and all your self righteous bsleave everyone else alone and for god sakes clean that dump of a sanctuary up usda should shut you down gross!

Jul 03, 2011

Big Car Rescue Liesby: Anonymous

bigcatrescuelies.blogspot.com

ask them to see the proof and they’ll send it to you…I’m now a believer

Jul 03, 2011

Big Cat Rescue Lies…and here’s the proofby: Anonymous

bigcatrescuelies.blogspot.com

it’s all here. ask to see the proof

Apr 12, 2011

Domestic Rabbit Abuser and Killerby: Anonymous

This so called “Sanctuary” tortures and kills live domestic rabbits. If there is any justice the current investigation by several FL authorities into BCR will result in arrest to her and the workers who are involved in this unnecessary and barbaric animal cruelty, and this place will be shut down for all the animals who died there under her care. Like all the rabbits that were fed to Bobcats and other big cats then the cats died from unprofessional rehab. No ethical or professional rehab tortures and kills domestic rabbits nor do they feed or kill them to feed big cats, let alone throw them live into Bobcat pens. CB you are a disgrace to any wildlife center, you disgust true animal lovers and rescues. BCR not only breaks Florida animal cruelty laws but also promotes animal cruelty and justifies it with lies and ignorance. I am sure the deceased rabbits you tortured and killed are looking down hoping that when you are in jail they will give you toys and popsicles then dispose of you.

Mar 30, 2011

Thank Youby: Anonymous

I would like to take a minute to thank you for doing all this research, it was really interesting to read; I recently found BCR through a research project, and after becoming a fan on facebook got caught up in someone’s mudslinging campaign; that’s not to say they made no valid points or that they don’t have the right to them, but I went to do more in depth research in case I missed something but turned up a lot of blanks. This was very useful to me and I thank you for sharing it with us.

Mar 21, 2011

thanksby: SEO

Is Big Cat Rescue a Scam? Thanks for sharing this with us. I find your cat unique and I wish you all the best. Best wishes! Established in 1982, Favortron Co. Ltd. has been dedicated to designing and manufacturing of a very wide array of wiring management products. The firm’s major product lines with different function there are Normal Heavy duty favortron cable clamps, Marker favortron cable ties. SUMAKE is your best one stop for SUMAKE air pumps and Belt type SUMAKE air compressors resource system, provides products, services and solutions that enhance our customers’ energy efficiency, productivity and operations.

Sep 27, 2010

I did my own research alsoby: Joe Exotic

Now if you want the truth go there and see just like I did, I made a site of my own called www.911animalabuse.org and there is a live video to show the rat hole she has, the lies they tell and the proof of documents to show she is fake, a lier, and makes money off of her animals she bought. check it out for your self….

Sep 07, 2010

Maybeby: Michael

Response to last comment. Maybe she has to? In order to defeat the “animal terrorists”. There are two camps. One likes to use animals for personal gain and the other likes to work for the welfare of animals. In which camp do you genuinely reside? In which camp do you think Carole Baskin resides?

May 06, 2010

Carole Baskinby: Scammed by BCR

CArole Baskin will slander people, bash them and lie for her own gain. Stay away from her because she will only cause you turmoil and pain. She will lie about your circumstances for her own gain.

A Nightmare.

Apr 10, 2010

I know know the truthby: Joe Exotic

Don’t know what happened to the first comment or what, maybe it is just slow. But I visited BCR my self just a couple of weeks ago and OMG, what a mess this place is in. Yes it should be considered a Scam and a back yard zoo. This place is a wreck, now I know why she picks on me so much because she is jelous. and yes I filed a complaint with the USDA and put my complaint public on www.animalsluts.org so lets see if something is done about it. Lord knows PeTA wont because she is a primary donor to them. She got $20,000.00 to better the life of a black Leopard from Panther International, and look what a crap whole it is living in. Carole, now we have the truth so why dont you just stop slamming everyone else before We put YOU out of business.

Apr 10, 2010

Now we know the truthby: Joe Exotic

Ok,I couldn’t understand why Carole Baskin picked on me and others so much. So I took a trip to Florida and OH MY GOD! What did I find, a pit whole of a so called Sanctuary, park, zoo, or what ever she wishes to call herself but it is the worst display of effection for animals I have ever seen. Why does she pick on me? Jelous, because my park is amazing compaired to hers. I took photos and logged a complaint, and put it all on line just so she knows I am not one of those who do everything behind someones back.

You may go to www.animalsluts.org and see her big mess yourself.

Wow, Carole, you took $20,000.00 from the Panther International to help the Black Panther living in crap but, you live like a Queen? Know lets talk Scamsuary…….

Apr 10, 2010

Ya Rightby: Anonymous

Gee a whole web page dedicated to carol baskins lewis?

Either you are some wacko believer follower or carole, caroles friend, or daughter. Very biased report. What about the allegations of where her husband is? How bout where are the usda sheet which we have all seen about where the majority of the cats came from her own backyard the usda sheets are littered with born or purchased more so then transfered. Please spare us your pathetic attempt to glorify her actions. She exploits animals for profit. Period. If she was everything she claims to be not like. Then she would be closed to the public and there would be no night tours and all the other crap that goes on there when do the animals get a break from the public that place is 24 7 money train.

You don’t love animals either!

Hi Carole!

Feb 28, 2010

Is Big Cat Rescue a Sham?by: Lynn Culver

Big Cat Rescue is presently doing what the title implies, taking in felines that, for various reasons, have lost their homes. BCR chooses high-profile cases that generate positive press and donation dollars.

Carole Baskin is misleading in their re-write of their own history. Carole Baskin is inaccurate and deceptive in her attacks of other facilities and owners. Carole Baskin is ignorant about conservation issues surrounding captive and wild conservation and does serious harm to felines.

When Carole wrote letters to stir up hatred and fear, of owners, and big cats, it harmed conservation. It put animals’ lives in jeopardy. Florida Fish and Wildlife regulates facilities and has detailed requirements for caging, handler experience, and nearness to neighbors, liability insurance, and much more. Neighbors have far more to fear from the countless dangers of city life, and accepted employment risks, than the regulated containment of these felines on private property.

Concerning the snow leopards, they were purchased from a licensed breeder. Whether this breeder is also a tax-exempt sanctuary is beside the point. The highly endangered snow leopards were transferred from AZA zoos to a facility that held all the proper federal licenses. Offspring were born at that facility and sold to the Lewis couple, which, at that time, portrayed themselves as licensed, experienced, professional breeders of wild felines, qualified to own and breed such large, endangered, and specialized feline.

I remember when Carole attended the LIOC convention with her recently declawed snow baby Hercules. Back then, WOES still operated with mixed goals, including amassing the most varied collection of exotic cats, and breeding rare cats for sale, as well as taking in some cats that needed another home.

Calling snow leopards ‘surplus’, by no means makes them ‘surplus’. Endangered species are all valuable. However in closed breeding pools, such as those managed by the AZA, some duplicates of genetic representation need to leave the pool to make room for other genetic representation, and these genetically valuable individuals get incorporated into another separate gene pool outside the AZA. Having two gene pools is redundant protection.

Snow leopard genetics should be bred, and should be maintained; they should not be selfishly acquired and held at sanctuaries. I disagree with Carole’s decision to purchase them and later not to breed them but still keep them, because she is actually harming the future survival of the private sector gene pools of snow leopards. Once she changed her mind about conservation breeding, she should have transferred the snow leopards to a licensed facility or zoo that does maintain and breed this species.

There is certainly a compelling reason not to remove snow leopards from the gene pool. They are critically endangered and should never have spent their lives at Big Cat Rescue. They were never a rescue.

Feb 01, 2010

another promo for Carole lewis Baskin’s causeby: Anonymous

I’ll give this much to Carole, she spends a lot of time and effort campaigning herself and trying to clean up her past but to those of us that know the truth it won’t work. Just like one of the other comments, I know what you are up to. Just like deleting my comments on you 911 animal abuse site that did not go along with you smear campaing towards other sanctuaries you know absolutely nothing about. Try truly rescuing animals that need the help Carole and not just the one or two with big publicity (or high profile cases). We are all tired of your lies and bashing. Remeber you may have a lot of money to bash other people but what goes around comes around.

Feb 01, 2010

This is probably another carole baskins run site like the 911 animals abuse site dam she is goodby: Anonymous

Another carole baskins site where she smells like roses and does nothing wrong where’s your husband burp said the lion. Anyway biased reporting from either baskins, her kin or a crazy supporter. Let’s get real who really spends there time creating elaborate blogs about sanctuarys without getting paid no one. NICE TRY CAROLE AND FRIENDS. The real topic is how on earth can you kill your husband take over all his money and get away with it only in america. Dig into that blogger. NOONE spends this time for another person unless they are another nutty tree hugger hypocrite like carole. Crap look at all those links over there. Your investigation appears totally biased and you fail to mention the new report busting her breeding and the videos collecting donations on cats that she breed with fake abuse stories. She rescued most of these cats from loving homes and there is a paper trail to prove it she won’t let you see the usda sheets they are available to the public though. Anyways my comment will be deleted since it is not in you best interest. BYE Carole and friends

Jan 07, 2010

not even closeby: joe exotic

You did a wonderful job on this site, but the problem with carole is she is slinging mud at people she really knows nothing about, it is about who can raise the most money and she must think slamming me she can get more donations pulled to her side. She does not even know me nor does she know what my place looks like in real life, if she did she would be ashamed of her own place. I do nothing now that she dont do or did do to make a better place for her animals. I admit to everything I do and not ashamed of any of it. I just dont see what she gets out of taking so much energy bashing me vs caring for her own cats and facility open to the public. We all do what we have to, but none of us hurt animals. The funny thing is she takes all her information off of peta’s website which we all know is wrong. Come see my place, lets set down and look at the facts and the records, and I will prove you are very wrong. Pass up that invite and than lets see who has something to hide. I saw Carole on bay news 9 busted on tv in the act of lying. This is your invite Baskin, come to okalhoma and lets see who rescues and lets see who lives high off the hog off of the animals donations.

Joe Exotic

Nov 23, 2009

Good of you to visit.by: Michael

Hi Carole, thank you for visiting and commenting. It is nice of you.

Nov 23, 2009

Thanks For Researching This Topicby: Carole Baskin

Your webpage came to me via a google alert and I was pleasantly surprised to see that you took the time to research the allegations and evidence. I try to make sure that I can fully back up any statement that I make so it was nice to see that you took the time to weigh the facts and present your conclusions.

Please comment here using either Facebook or WordPress comments. Comments are welcome.

Hi, I am 70-years-of-age at 2019. For 14 years before I retired at 57, I worked as a solicitor in general law specialising in family law. Before that I worked in a number of different jobs including professional photography. I have a longstanding girlfriend, Michelle. We like to walk in Richmond Park which is near my home.

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Comments

Is Big Cat Rescue a Sham? — 57 Comments

Please don’t defend this women, I was planning on a visit and googled reviews, the information I found was quite disturbing. This establishment exploits the ‘Big Cats” to provide the owner a lavish lifestyle. Its really disgusting. And her husband ‘disappeared ” his children say he may have been fed to the animals at this so called “sanctuary” its just all so disgusting.

Thanks Janet. I wrote this article years ago and at that time did not find evidence to really substantiate the claims that BCR was a sham. I think too that she has changed. But I might do some more work on this.

Wow it seems this Anonymous person wasn’t lying as you guys suggested. I did a little research of my own and have come across a few things. Including seeing conditions for myself. Here is a news story about how they torture, abuse, and feed live rabbits to their cats. In the wild I know these animals would hunt and kill live prey, but in captivity there is no reason for it or excuse for the treatment of these rabbits. The cats themselves are neglected, abused, and living in such poor conditions. I tried to sneak a camera to show what was going on, but could not have any time alone or without eyes on me to do so. You people are despicable.

To answer your question, dam right I am using that Baskin had a ten year affair! Have you been on cheated on? It sucks, and it speaks of her character. That she screwed her step children out of their inheritance, and later to find out that she fraudulently obtained Power of Attorney, also speaks badly of her. She is a master manipulater, a liar, and killed her husband and found a way to convince the public to fund her personal zoo and life style. Give kudos to the bitch for all her devoted followers, that blindly finance mostly cats she bred. Sadly, the zoo is shitty. I live in California, and zoos and sanctuaries here are kept at a much higher standard than Florida. I feel sorry for her cats. One day karma will knock on her door, and the old witch will get hers.

Your article is still biast, and you are pretty much agreeing with BCR points. I have a Early Generation Bengal and she does not have IBS, aggression issues, she pees and poops in her litter box, she has no behavior problems, is friendly with our other pets, and loves my husband and I. The only health issue she has is allergies, she sneezes once in a while. She is timid towards strangers and one of my teenagers, and she does not like change or the outside. To be honest, that moron Baskin has it wrong with EG Bengals. They are descended from the Asian Snow Leopard, which is a shy creature, and not adventurous. Thus, when my Bengal found herself unexpectedly outside when a screen broke under her weight she howled until my husband rescued her. She was so frightened she howled at me for another half an hour. They are vocal, and will let you know whatever mood they are in and what they want. But they are intelligent enough to know when to shut up too. They are very trainable.

A cat is going to pee everywhere because you declawed them. That is just barbaric and cruel. My guess is most people experiencing that were stupid and made the choice to do so. This causes the cat pain and arthritis. It is actually painful to use the litter box. Declawing should be illegal. I would never do that to my cats. It show what type of person Baskin is that she did this to her cats!
Nothing she says is true about hybrid cats. Since you do not own one all your article is, just like Baskin’s lies is a opinion. Hybrids have fertility issues. Currently, actually thanks to Baskin’s tirade against Savannahs, I am waiting on a litter. The mother, a F3 had to be taken to the vet and given medication to induce labor. She only had two kittens and one passed on. Hybrid cats are known to get uterine infections, and males are infertile until the fourth or fifth generation. Please explain to me, how hybrid cat with known fertility issues is going to create a super cat?

Why do people fear hybrid cats is because of the lies Baskin, HSUS, PETA, WCS, BornFree, and AR groups articles which demonize these felines, and say they are vicious, which is not at all true. It is their fault hubrid cats are shot and killed. They are responible for all the cats being killed by their propaganda.

I can tell you, my Burmese is a better hunter than either of my Bengals. She killed two mocking birds that dive bombed her, and their young. Cats are all good hunters and it is ridicules to say thy are better. We also own a feral, and she is not a hunter. With your logic, she should be, both her parents were feral.

The truth is that hybrid cats are like any other cat just smarter and more active. They intergrate well with other pets, but they bond with their people deeply and they need more attention than your normal cat.

Baskin owns a F1 badly bred Bengal. She claims he is wild. Not from the pictures I saw. She loves him, and lives with her. Well, I want the right to own my cats, and to own my Savannah without intervention of some AR nutters, and a liar, that cannot even cover her deceit half decently. Why should she have the right to own a Bengal, but take that right away from everyone else? Why should she destroy people’s well established breeding programs, and confiscate their beloved pets? All because she was not a successful breeder. She obviously does not believe the lies she is spewing out. Otherwise, her Bengal would be in a cage were it belongs, due to their vicious nature. (Yes, that is sarcasm.) Yes, I am not objective about that bitch or all the AR nutters I mentioned. If they had their way they would murder my favorite cat.

BTW, what right does that bitch have to in this ban to retroactivity confiscate early generation hybrid cats, from loving homes and murder them if this band passes in California or Florida? I purchased my cats legally, and unlike her, do not expect the public to finance my felines. My cat would not do well in a sanctuary either with lions and tigers, she is a house cat! So dam right I am not objective! I truly have no understanding why you have the need to defend someone like her. People have given you enough evidence of her character, which stinks to high heaven. How you can think anything she does is okay, it makes me question your morals and I have no doubt that your association with BCR.

These entire summary is completely ignorant and biast. Your awe of Baskin and your pathetic attempt to justify her deceit and immoral and unethical behavior.
Let us take a look at Baskin. She had a ten year affair with a married man, which caused a divorce. She is a suspected of being apart of his disappearance just after he requested a restraining order against the psycho bitch. In many of her previous relationship she was physically violent and threatened and assaulted the men in her life. She surrounds herself with con artists and felons to help with her deceptions. She continually lies about her past, so which is it? When did she meet Don? When she was young or later on when Don’s marriage was collapsing? Very classy to screw her step childre out of their inheritance, especially after one of her friends went to the police and confessed she actually did not witness Don signing the document giving Baskin Power of Attorney if he disappeared or died. How convenient he was out of her way soon after.

Oh, and she does not hate hybrid cats, because she owns a badly bred F1 Bengal as her personal pet. In a post she claimed it was wild, pissed all over the place, was destructive, and she was unable to even pet the crazy cat. So the poor kitty lived on her porch. You can imagine my surprise when I sae this dangerous feline wrapped around her neck on her Facebook page! Funny how it was filled with hybrid cat pictures. I think she is a lover. She seems to love her Bengal. I can relate, because I dearly love mine too. So, why should I have to give mine up and that lying bitch keep hers?

Most of her cats are from her breeding program, and they were not abused just because they came from the exotic pet industry. The donations is her piggy bank and the paid employees are her family! Oh, they get a decent chunk of change!

Her petition in California and in Florida would destroy people’s businesses, and owners of Early Generation hybrid felines would have these beautiful pets confiscated. What would happen to these beloved cats? They would be killed or transfered to sanctuaries were they would live their lived among lions and tigers. Many of these kitties become attached to their owners, and are used to social interaction. This would be animal cruelty.

Hybrid cats are not wild animals, and make wonderful pets. Many times they experience the same problems other domestic cats do. They are not aggressive, do not use your house as a urinal, they often do not have health issues or behavioral problems. They do not bite or scratch any more than a normal cat, often less. They integrate well with other animals, and have no extra hunting abilities than a normal cat. They are active and smart. If you are stupid enough not to actually read and look at all the evidence of her lies, then you are warped.

Your awe of Baskin and your pathetic attempt to justify her deceit and immoral and unethical behavior.

Steffanie, I am not in awe of Baskin, not at all. I am surprised you cannot see that from the way the article is written. I simply checked out allegations and tried to find the truth and presented the information I discovered with my thoughts. That is fair and does not justify your comment.

Please try and be as objective as me.

She had a ten year affair with a married man, which caused a divorce

You are not actually using that to criticise her are you? If you are you are criticizing humankind 😉

I can’t read your entire comment because it comes across as biased. I don’t know Baskin. She may be the kind of person you say she is but all I can do is be as objective and as unbiased as possible.

The real reason she attacks other sanctuaries is simple since she is no longer able to breed due to all her attacks on other breeders (and being caught breeding in the past) she acquires her fresh stock of exhibits by attacking other sanctuaries. This results in two things one she gets fresh stock for her glorified but disgusting zoo. And she also gets free PR. By using the sanctuaries she attacks as keywords in her blogs she steal funding possible customers and slowly shuts them down if they can’t handle the financial pressure. Then swoops in to save the dam with cameras rolling. Very impressive gimmick and it is just that. There are of course a few sanctuaries that are so bad and just so awful due to either not enough funding or overstock of animals from breeding but for the most part Carol attacks anyone she feels is a threat to her being the biggest game in town. Like I said if your truly for no cats in cages and that’s your agenda then you shouldn’t have any cats in cages..right? And BCR is the worst of the exploiters I mean the animals don’t get a break from human interaction. Night tours, feeding tours, kids tours, summer camp tours, lol talk about a tough day. They are open the longest one of the most expensive and have some of the worst conditions and the odor whew. Can smell it through my computer. If you think that odor is common because there are big cats think again been to many facilities that are spotless and odor free and clean there cages. BCR claims they leave the cages natural…..um can’t leave it natural unless it’s a few miles of roaming space. Place that tightly cramped needs to be raked and cleaned properly can only imagine how much feces is in those enclosures. I’ve volunteered for some sanctuaries and there’s no way your cleaning tiger shit through a fence with a pole. Imagine your cat pan and trying to clean it from your coach with a pointer?? umm yeah not happening.

If you care about the welfare of the cats then you should support real sanctuaries that BCR attacks i’ve read online the places she attacks and have visited the ones within reasonable driving distance myself and there’s absolutely no contest in care and cleanness of the animals. BCR is a horrid situation for rescues more like out of the pan and into the fire if you ask me. And it makes me sick all those morons on google that support this place with a five star review might as well support slavery. These are just common pictures put out by BCR look at that water would you want to swim or drink it lol half the water bins in the facility do not live up to standards even bit gross you ask me for a 4 million per year non profit that all the proceeds should be going back into the animals don’t believe the hype seen smaller places with much better care on way smaller donations.

Do you breed wild cat hybrids? Nope try again. Do you keep captive wild cats in enclosures? Nope try again. Are you involved in the wild cat business in anyway? Nope try again. Your interested to know because like I said sir you are biased. Are you involved in the pet trade? Do you breed and keep wild cat hybrids? Who in there right mind rights an entire blog as you have combating people that speak out against BCR a notorious animal abuser. I love animals and went to this place and was floored by it’s deplorable conditions. Upon a deeper look noticed some serious problems with BCR’s private pet collection being perpetrated as rescues. Carol Baskins should be in prison for killing her husband at the very least. But mostly for fraud. Your research is pathetic to be blunt. Nope don’t own one cat not even so much as a frog or goldfish don’t like pets enjoy them in the wild. Axe to grind that’s cute. Are you fucking Carole Baskins? Because anyone in there right mind wouldn’t side with her after hearing the details of her husband witnessing the condition of the cats. And hearing the evidence from volunteers all which don’t even get paid so why would they lie? Get real and save the response have enough lying in my life to listen to any of your bullshit. Anyone that loves animals wouldn’t want them stuck in a facility as disgusting as BCR been to many zoos and sanctuaries and they are all beautiful in comparison need to take some of that 4 million and clean up that crap hole they call a sanctuary. Leave scam and sham out of your blog and what on earth are you right a blog for most people speaking out against BCR don’t like seeing animals shoved in small rusty cages its funny how they pretend they are against zoo’s and sanctuaries lol all which treat there animals ten times better than BCR. If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck…it’s a duck. BCR is only about profit soon as it cleans up that shit hole and takes better care of the animals purchased I won’t have a problem then you can all continue on with you sanctuary war that which I am not apart. You seem to be a fake animals rights activist same goes for Carol Baskins if she really cared about those animals put them all to sleep and shut your doors.

The reason why I asked the questions is because Carole Baskin criticizes wild cat hybrid owners. As mentioned, the page was an analysis of certain accusations. That is all. Take it or leave it. In general, I hate all zoos and the idea of captive wild cats is abhorrent to me. But I was not focusing on that. I was focusing on accusations against BCR. You have misassessed my motivation and me in person. I don’t care either way about BCR. All I care about is the welfare of cats.

Mr. Broad it is obvious that you are blogging on Carole Baskins behalf to attempt to combat negative information in the search rankings. Next time try not to be so obvious. Rusty cramped cages is not what I call a rescue. Get in a car and drive out to ten rescues. When your done if you tell me that you can honestly say that Big Cat Rescue wasn’t the worst of the ten I will remove every bad thing that I have posted about them. My SEO is that of which you are trying to combat lol Doubtful that you can honestly do so. They are the dirtiest of the sanctuaries that I have been to. Smell the worst and the cats look miserable in comparison to many sanctuaries I have visited. I accuse you of being just another BCR paid employee sir. PERIOD.

Hi Chris. The article was written from a neutral standpoint. I simply wanted to analyse some claims by her detractors. That is all. I am not a BCR employee at all. It was a logical process done scientifically and as objectively as possible.

I am certainly not trying to combat negative publicity about BCR. Far from it.

Do you breed wild cat hybrids? Do you keep captive wild cats in enclosures? Are you involved in the wild cat business in anyway? I’d be interested to know. You appear to have an axe to grind – an agenda. I don’t. Believe me.

Michael, you did not respond to me but to Juan, but I have to say something. He took the time to write you a detailed response giving you several examples that prove Baskin lies about her cats to get people to donate money to her under false pretense…fraud… and you blow it of as insignificant nitpicking and you don’t have time to read it? I hope he never writes to you again because it is obvious that your own moral compass is as corrupt as Carole Baskin’s.

When you are dead, you don’t know you’re dead, it’s just difficult for everyone around you. It’s the same thing when you’re stupid.

Jo Singer
It’s funny that you use BCR as a source of information when they have been caught in so many lies. Anyway, my acquaintance conducted a poll on many sanctuaries and it takes a yearly average of $4,000 to care for one cat. Half of what BCR says which isn’t surprising.

About food, in this country nonprofits can get meat donated for free, and most do. Beef, chicken, turkey, all free for the asking, and many sanctuaries work together to pick up and distribute meat. Since they have many die hard supporters like you they must be receiving a lot of donated goods.

As for enrichment, I guess throwing christmas trees, boxes, and pinatas really is expensive….

As for construction, they used to have 140 cats and many other animals and they are now down to less than 100 animals so why would they spend money on building new cages when they have many empty cages? I do wonder why Carole asks for donations when she is a multimillionaire.

Really? You think repairing their cheaply made enclosures would be expensive?

Please stop trying to make excuses for them. When they had over 200 animals their expenses were less than $500,000 and now that they have less than 100 animals their expenses are over $2,000,000. How in the world does that make sense?

You toured their facility twice, good for you. So there is nothing exploitive going on? Not even the various tours they offer all year round from day to night? Why would a ‘sanctuary’ for abused animals offer Day Tours, Night tours, Kids Tours, Feed the Cat Tours, Private Tours, Keeper Tours, Photo Tours, Group Tours, Weddings, Parties, Field Trips, and Kids’ Camps? I thought the cats are supposed to find peace and not have tens of thousands of visitors gawking at them all year round. A lot of the cats don’t even get peace when they die since many of their cats were taken to a taxidermist to preserve their remains so they can be displayed in a museum she made in the Lion Party Pavilion. Not even PETA supports the money grubbing tours (commercial activity) at BCR.

“While it appears that direct contact between visitors and the animals has been eliminated, the cats are still subjected to daily tours, during which visitors encroach upon the animals’ feeding times, as well as shows that display the “operant conditioning” used to train the cats. (…) As you can see, there is much work to be done. Please write a polite note asking that Big Cat Rescue close to the public and spend every minute attending to the complex needs of the animals it keeps:” – PETA

Accredited? BCR wasn’t even an accredited sanctuary by The Association of Sanctuaries since they didn’t meet all the standards for one. The GFAS is an animal rights controlled ‘accrediting’ club. They have board and staff members from the HSUS and other RR organizations. BCR gave the HSUS $25,000 to become a diamond level sponsor for them which I assume was a waste of money since the HSUS had to pay over $10,000,000 in a racketeering lawsuit.

A two week vacation how nice. It’s too bad the big cats have to wait almost an entire year for another turn which they might not be able to get. It’s even worse for the smaller cats because they will have to wait longer than a year for a turn. I feel bad for the cats that are last in line.

I’m not questioning the quality of care the cats receive, I’m questioning the lies told and the facts omitted to dupe the donors into paying for that care.

For instance, Carole posted a picture of Frosty the Serval today on Facebook. Nowhere in the description does she mention that he was born there of parents that were bought as breeders. There may be some folks who would choose not to donate their money for a cat Carole bought to breed, but Carole cleverly omits the facts. It’s not like many people ever do research.

Sources, USDA papers, 1997 Inventory, WOES Safari Guide

Frosty the Serval

Frosty was born at BCR of breeders Daisy and Mufasa
on 1/1/95 along with littermate Purrsonality. Mufasa
was bought at Lolli Bros Auction for $2000.Daisy was
purchased for $2200 from breeder John Aynes of OK.
Frosty, Purrsonality, Mufasa, and Daisy were not rescues.
Frosty was then bred to Nairobi, bought from a pet shop
for $1,000, to produce white servals Kongo and Tonga. A
white serval named Pharoah was also born at BCR in 1999.
Nairobi, Kongo, Tonga, and Pharoah were not rescues.http://beyondthinking.weebly.com/the-changing-cat-stories.html

A person doesn’t have to visit BCR in person to tour their facility. Google maps offers that for free through their street view. You ask me if I have visited BCR. I ask you, have you read the information on my website? No intelligent person could view the truth and still insist this is an ethical operation.

Juan, I’d just like to address the first 7 paragraphs of your comment.

They are all about the expenses in running the sanctuary and the amount of money the sanctuary makes.

Right now I don’t have the actual figures to argue that but I’m not sure it needs to be argued anyway.

Is there anything wrong in making money in the USA? Is she actually saving the lives of big cats putting aside for a minute the running costs and profits?

If your answer to that is yes then I think you have to conclude that what she is doing is doing some good for these cats which after all is the objective of BCR.

This comment is not an attempt to defend Carole Baskin. In is itended to simply look at this situation as logically as possible.

You refer to an excessive number of tours around the sanctuary. You say she is exploiting the cats. I’m not sure that I understand that to be honest. Are you saying that looking at the cats that have been rescued is exploiting them when money has to be made anyway to pay for the facility?

Even if the facility is far from perfect as you suggest it is better for the cats than the place they come from and their lives are saved. If the lives of these cats are improved by the actions of Big Cat Rescue then you have to say that it is a success.

You keep accusing Carole Baskin of lying. In your comment you say she lies about the amount of money she makes and the expenses in running the century. Even if they are misrepresentations they are hardly serious because their intention is to drum up more money and the moneymaking element of the sanctuary has to be accepted in America which is the capitalist centre of the world. As long as the cats benefit surely some good is being done at the end of the day.

I will try and respond to the remainder of your comment in due course but right now due to pressure of time I cannot.

Carol and Don Lewis purchased 1.1 Snow leopards in the past. They were not rejects from the SSP. They also purchased 1.1 Spotted Leopards and I also purchased a white footed Serval from them. This was back when Don Lewis was still alive and they were known as Wildlife on East Street.

Mark McCarthy
—————————————-

So I think you’re wrong when you say “I think that Rexano simply got this wrong. BCR are saying as mentioned above that these cats were considered surplus by other sanctuary (McCarthy’s?)”. Is BCR not lying when they say the snow leopards came from zoo surplus from the Species Survival Plan when Mark McCarthy, the man who sold the leopards, said they weren’t rejects from the Species Survival Plan?

This is directed towards your comment,
“Is Big Cat Rescue a Sham? No, not on this evidence. OK to recap the above. I do not see malpractice or evidence that tells me that Big Cat Rescue is anything other than stated:
Stated Purpose: “to provide a good home for the limited number of cats that the sanctuary can afford to take in … and reduce the number of cats that suffer the fate of abandonment and abuse by educating as many people as possible about the conditions that lead to the plight of these animals. ” (BBB website – this page)”

Not sure what sexism has to do with anything. She doesn’t just state her opinions she spouts out lies and misinformation as if they are facts and many people believe everything she says without doing any actual research. I would say she is a liar since in a interview for a article she said,

“Knowing that the kitten had been too deeply imprinted by humans and that this idea of returning animals to the wild is just the activist’s way of patting themselves on the back, while the animal is sent out to surely die where no one can see him, we gathered twenty two affidavits from people who had watched the cub’s progress, who stated that they did not believe she was a pure Florida Bobcat and therefore the State had no authority to confiscate her. The State agreed and further allowed that she was a hybrid and could be adopted by the person who had originally rescued her.”

You still think she isn’t a liar? Am I still not providing sound evidence?

Now getting back to your response to me.

No, there isn’t anything wrong with making money but there is something wrong when you have to lie to people to get it. Isn’t she basically committing fraud since she is intentionally misrepresenting and concealing important facts which donors are meant to rely on, and in fact do rely on. I and many other people including news investigators have already proved that many of her cats weren’t actually rescued. Lets take a look at Nikita. On BCR’s website they say,

“Nikita was found chained to the wall in a crack house during a drug bust in Tennessee. Because she had been confined to a concrete floor, she had huge swellings on her elbows that took months to heal. She was so thin that you could carry her under one arm. She would only eat white rabbits, so she had a plethora of nutritional issues to deal with as well. The authorities took her to the Nashville Zoo at Grasmere, but she had been declawed and could not live with the zoo’s other lions. They had to find a new home for her, so we received the call. Big Cat Rescue agreed to take Nikita in, as well as three other Bobcats who all arrived on 11/30/01.”

You say you aren’t defending Carole Baskin yet you keep making up excuses for her. You are basically saying it’s alright to commit forgery, perjury, fraud, deceit, manipulation, and probable murder as long as it’s for a ‘good’ cause.

Is that not what exploitation is? She is using her cats to make money. How are Night Tours, Weddings, Parties, Private Tours, and Feed the Cat Tours not exploiting the cats? I am not a PETA fan, but even they object to her exploiting the cats in this way. Many of them were on exhibit when she “rescued’ them from places forced to close, so where is their peace…their retirement?

Again many of their cats were not rescued from horrible conditions. Shere Khan for example is said to have come from a loving and nurturing home when BCR was known as W.O.E.S.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLDtLV2Skco

“A male Siberian/Bengal Tiger born 12/20/94 stole our hearts on 3/12/95. He had been sold as a cub, but the purchaser kept putting off his delivery date, until he finally canceled the sale at four months. The breeders then had a four month old cub on their hands who had never been disciplined, and for whom they had no other facilities, than a small carrier, that he was quickly outgrowing. We accepted him knowing that we may never be able to completely tame and trust him. We and our staff and volunteers worked with him several hours every day to try and teach him not to bite.”

Now BCR says this about him

“Shere Khan did not have much of a chance for survival from the start. Dennis Hill had pre-sold him as a white cub, but the purchaser kept putting off his delivery date. He finally cancelled the sale when Shere Khan was already four months old. The breeders were left with a quickly growing cub on their hands and no other facilities for him other than a small carrier. He was up to his belly in feces and decaying food in a pet taxi that seemed to just bust at the seams with tiger fur.
He never got the vitamins and exercise he needed as a growing cub, so his back legs were badly underdeveloped. He was very sick for a long time and suffered major problems from calcium deficiency. X-rays showed that his baby canine teeth were rotting in their sockets from his malnourishment and they had to be excised because they had rotted through his face. His bones were mere paper shells and one wrong jump could easily break a leg. We supplemented him three times a day with calcium to encourage healthy bones and teeth.”

The video says it all. How many people would donate money to a cub who came from “a loving and nurturing home?” Probably none, so Carole invented a story of abuse. Doesn’t, “He could lift himself, but just barely” garner more sympathy and donations than a healthy splashing, normal little tiger cub? Buying tiger cubs across state lines was illegal. That did not stop Carole, she simply paid the breeder $800 cash and listed the cat as a donation.

Misrepresentations and lies are two different things. Are you saying that lies, deceit, and fraud have to be accepted in America to drum up money? Because if you are, maybe you should take a good look at your own morals and ethics.

Thanks Juan for a full comment – appreciated. However, the first section of your comment says that there are conflicting stories about the acquisition of snow leopards. Is this such a big deal? How significant is it? In the grand scheme of things it seems to be insignificant when set against the good aspects of BCR. I may have that wrong and I am not defending BCR. I just feel there is some nitpicking going on. Can you point to outright fraud and deception regarding money for instances? That would stick for me.

I don’t have time right now to read the rest. Also when the first section is nitpicking cud chewing stuff I am put off.

Have you examined the evidence (green links) on Juan’s website? It is offensive to me to see the words Big Cat Rescue and ethical sanctuary in the same paragraph, so I suspect that you have not.

The garbage and mudslinging you speak of are actually legal documents, USDA papers, Newspaper and TV interviews, and first hand reports from people who actually lived and worked at BCR. Do you not want to know the truth about an organization before you donate?

True sanctuaries do not exhibit their exotic cats for money or claim that they rescued cubs that were then declawed and turned into a commercial enterprise, forced to sleep unsupervised with paying guests. They started with 144 of their own cats and when the B&B failed they simply converted them to rescues and changed their name. Would you call this ethical?

All in the past you say? They’ve changed you say? View the recent April 2014 video and listen carefully to the story Carole tells. Then click on the links in the rebuttal to see what she said in an interview in 2007. If she is transparent and upfront as she says she is, why is she lying…not 20 years ago, but in 2014!

Lies are not made true just because the majority of people believe them. Some just don’t know better, and some just don’t want to know better.

Hi Janet. I don’t recall saying BCR was ethical. I was simply addressing some points as objectively as possible and leaving it to the reader to decide. That is the intention anyway. I have not as yet read Juan’s comment due to time constraints but will do very soon and perhaps do another article based on them. I have seen pages attacking Baskin but I have not as yet seen a good sound argument.

I do not refer to “garbage” but I do sense there is some mudslinging going on. Even at a very simplistic level BCR does save lives – the opposite of what many private zoo owners achieve.

Thanks for sharing and visiting. Any future comment you wish to make will be published immediately.

Michael, I’m sorry, I was responding to Jo Singers post, not yours. She said BCR was ethical. So are you agreeing that they are not? Jo also called Juan’s comments garbage, although any intelligent adult could hardly dismiss the evidence if they truly took the time to read.

Are you also saying that there have been no sound arguments made here? I don’t know what you call sound, but I think the truth is as sound as one can get.

As for BCR saving lives, they raise many thousands of dollars with each rescue and there are many others who could save those lives for much, much less, and not destroy human lives with lies and slander in the process.

I have been to Big Cat Rescue twice! I have seen nothing exploitive about this Sanctuary. There is nothing “off” about the work they are doing. This is an ACCREDITED facility- the largest in the world. Everything is done with the utmost of care, done correctly- and these cats are LOVED- enriched- even each cat has a two -week vacation on a huge protected area within the facility- out of their enclosures- to enjoy. All this garbage and mud-slinging is disgusting, in my opinion. This is a highly ETHICAL sanctuary where many things have changed over the years. Please stop posting these unfounded lies. It is unfair to the Sanctuary but mostly to the cats who are living there peacefully under excellent care.

There is just so much wrong with Big Cat Rescue and its founder Carole Lewis Baskin. I get that you probably only care about the welfare of the animals but does she really need to be constantly asking for donations from the public to take care of her cats? She is a multimillionaire after all. So shouldn’t she be the one paying to take care of them since some of the cats were her and her daughters pets and others are there from her buying and breeding days? She was caught in a bunch of lies in a recent interview in April which I will post on the BCR webpage I made. That page can be found here http://beyondthinking.weebly.com/big-cat-rescue-formerly-wildlife-on-easy-street.html
She claims to be transparent so why does she lie?

The bottom line though is that the wild cats are given a life where but for BCR they would not or they’d be in worse conditions. Charities are not necessarily whiter than white. Perhaps it is a case of the ends justifying the means.

I think the bottom line would be that many of the cats were bought, sold, bred, declawed, exploited, and lied about and it was the duped donors who paid for their care. I know not all charities are without problems but that doesn’t change the fact that BCR and its founder are still telling the same lies, spreading the same misinformation, and attacking others who don’t agree with what they believe. God forbid if anybody dares speaks out against them. You say this may be a case where the ends are justifying of the means. So probable murder, lies, fraud, perjury, forgery, deceit, manipulation, and harassing others are all justified just so Carole can be able to exploit her cats day and night all year round under the guise of a sanctuary? Take care.

By the way Juan, it takes !0,000 annually PER CAT to be taken care of, fed, veterinary care, enrichment, etc. That doesn’t factor in the cost of running the facility either- the construction, repair, insurance etc.

So.. you go figure out how much it costs to run this facility- and wonder why Carole asks for donations?? Please give me a break.

By all means it does, does it not concern you that over 150 cats have died there and some been killed for un-known pain conditions? And that she skins them? I have called and talked to the taxidermist she uses. Been in trouble for illegally buying snow leopards, Illegally taking bobcats out of Alabama, and the lies about the fur farm, I can give you that ladies number, if your gonna run a sanctuary tell the damn truth about your animals. Yes it all tells the character of the person caring for the cats. In court she admitted she is only there 15 hours a week. LOL really…. Support someone that could be a murder, hell I don’t care, that tells your character and what you stand for.Its all wrong and you know it. you might watch tonights show and learn something https://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DDHYup86vaxs&h=BAQFZAkia

Does everyone forget she more than likely fed her husband to the tigers for over 5 million dollars, we have proved that the signatures on the power of attorney were forged. They came forward and admitted they lied, shit it is in the police records. And it was drawn up by Carole herself. Who the hell puts in a power of attorney in case of my disappearance LOL. You all crack me up. She is nothing more than a terrorist trying to pad her own pocket. Collecting money on animals she will never get, like Tony the Tiger.

I’m reading through some of these comments, and notice ones by Joe Exotic who claims to have made 911animalabuse.org. Well, I was just there at BCR two weekends ago, and I can tell you some of the things you mentioned in the video you have on your website are completely false and intentionally so. I’m not saying none of your allegations are true, but don’t try to fluff it up with intentional lies because it hurts your credibility. Right in the very beginning you show a cat inside what appears to be a “small cage” and claim they are forced to live there… The photo is noticeably of very low resolution, but you can see, the rest of the pen behind it. It’s not a cage, it’s where they put the water bowl, it’s connected to the rest of their enclosure. I was just there and say this little extension in just about every enclosure… If you take a photo of just that extension, like you did for the video, it’ll look like a small cage. This is what I call an intentional lie and not a mistake because you must have known it’s connected to the larger enclosure, it was perfectly clear to me… Then some of your descriptions of the enclosures, saying they only have a small pipe to sit under and what-not, I also didn’t see that. Every cat had their own large enclosure. I didn’t see any that were especially small. If a cat is laying somewhere, he/she chose to, there is plenty of room in them for them to have plenty of choices where they want to lay down. I kind of stopped watching it right then, I don’t really like being intentionally lied to.

Regarding BCR and the CEO, there are some pretty compelling evidence against them, so again, I’m not picking sides here, I’m merely pointing out that the video on your website is intentionally misleading and has no credibility in my opinion because in the very opening I already see several attempts to mislead me.

And I just searched through all of the photos I took that day, and unfortunately all of them were close ups of the cats, so I didn’t get a photo with that extension you tried to depict as a cage… So, I guess I can’t “prove” what I’m saying either. But I am attaching one photo, it’s not an especially good photo, but it’s the “widest” shot I could find. Most of my other shots are very zoomed into the cat. This one kind of shows some of the enclosure, and as you can see, it’s dry, has a variety of places for the cat to sit, and this photo only shows at most 1/5 of the size of the enclosure. But this photo should at least prove that I’m not lying about visiting BCR recently…

Thanks for sharing your thoughts Ken. I tried to be totally fair in this article. Carole Baskin is either liked or loathed it seems to me. I think sometimes she is unfairly criticised because she is outspoken. I discuss her hatred from wild cat hybrids on this page.

I was there when Carole and Don bought the Snows, they had been looking for a while because Carole wanted one as a pet, and Don saw a money making opportunity. Carole took Herc EVERYWHERE with her for the first few months.

Thanks John, for visiting and sharing that. It is very nice to have information from first hand experiences. I guess there is no harm in making money from animal rescue as long as you rescue animals at the same time and as long as the animals are treated properly as well the donors who fund the operation.

I came to this site looking for info on another organization (i’ve never heard of this one), but this comment frustrates me. There is a difference between a “business” and a “rescue”. I can’t believe anyone who has ANY rescue knowledge, however limited, or any common sense wouldn’t see that. To be 501cc as a non profit organization- which is what a real rescue is- you cannot legally use donations or any money brought in for profit. Meaning you can’t use donations or fund-raising money to buy yourself an IPad for example. That’s a scam to say donations benefit the animals but to use them on yourself. How would you feel if you donated to an organization of a cause you really believe in and found out the CEO put it towards a car? No. You cannot rescue and be making money from it without being a business instead of a rescue! Ugh.

Hello and thank you for commenting. I respectfully disagree with you for these reasons. Firstly all rescues whether they make a profit or not or whether they should make a profit or not must be run as a business ultimately in order to function properly so in that sense of the word they are businesses.

Rescues which are non-profit are still run as businesses because money is coming in and money is going out and there has to be efficiency. It has to be run in a businesslike way.

Secondly, a rescue organisation can still rescue cats effectively and efficiently and make a profit. At least under these circumstances the cats are being rescued. The profit is secondary to the main objective which is to save the lives of big cats.

Thirdly, could you please tell me precisely the profits made by Big Cat Rescue for the last accounting year and also tell me precisely where the profits went in terms of expenditure.

I realise that if a rescue organisation makes a profit and spends the profit on holidays or personal possessions then it will have a detrimental affect upon the amount of the donations received because people won’t like that. I agree with you there. However, it does not stop the organisation being a cat rescue; it just means that they are likely to receive less in the way of donations.

“PoC has a large membership of like minded people who care about the welfare of cats and animals in general. It is a great source of information about taking care of cats and interesting history and news about cats. I enjoy being part of the group.” – Michele.